Faith

The following is from an email to my pastors, who are both awesome. In the days following our devastating news, I had much time to reflect and have found a good outlet in private journaling. I often find reasons to be glad I'm Lutheran, and recent reflections on my faith have been no exception.

"Thus far, I have had a rather smooth and hope-filled emotional recovery from this ordeal. At first I wondered why, and then I realized that Erich and I have many people--friends and family, loved ones--praying for our peace and comfort. God's peace has found us, and we welcome it. My mom says that Erich and I have such strong faith, we cannot be shaken. But hearing a statement like this embarrasses me; not because I don't have faith, but because I feel like I can't take responsibility for it. This miscarriage has demonstrated to me more acutely than anything else in my life that this wonderful faith we share comes completely and solely from the Holy Spirit. If it were up to me to keep my faith strong through this ordeal, I would fail miserably. The knowledge that I can rely so fully on the faith that comes from God is the sweetest of comfort. I don't need to question "my" faith (or even ask God "Why?") because God Himself keeps it strong. I can lean on that faith when I feel weak and know that it's there even when I don't feel it. I don't need to be able to control my thoughts and make myself think about believing in God and His saving grace to know that it's already won for me. What a tremendous blessing!"

Actually, scratch that :(

I really hate to make this announcement so soon after sharing our joy, but we have lost the baby. I had slight spotting and went in for an emergency ultrasound today, and the baby measured only nine weeks (I was to be twelve weeks today) and lacked a heartbeat.

Please keep Erich and me in your prayers in our time of grief.

Book Meme

Here you go, Hannah:

This is another meme from Cheryl, who tagged me. I love being tagged!

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

Good news, readers. Not only is this a fun meme, it's also a clever disguise for an announcement. Here is the passage:

"Your baby may be practicing breathing movements this week by moving his or her diaphragm in a repeating rhythm. These movements may even give your baby a case of hiccups. As your baby continues making these movements, you may occasionally notice a slight twitching in your uterus, like little spasms."

The book is Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy, which I'm reading because........

[dramatic pause]

.......I'm pregnant! Wow! Bet you didn't expect "thenewkeller" to take on a new meaning so soon! We're delighted and excited, and I'm especially glad that my fatigue is lifting. I'm about 12 weeks along, and my estimated due date is August 27. Yay!

So. Chew on that for a while, cyberworld! Good night!

ETA: Forgot to tag people: Erin, Anne, Sarah, Jessica, and...... I can't think of a fifth. K, bye!

Joel Osteen

I would say that this guy is everything that's wrong in Christianity. However, I don't think what he does has much to do with Christ. You may have seen this on 60 Minutes last October. It recently came to my attention again, and this man makes my stomach turn. It's a long video, but fascinating. My "highlights" follow:



The biggest problem with what he says is he doesn't say much at all! What he does say are his words alone--he rarely remembers to claim that his "message" is scripture-based. Just count the number of times he says "my message."

I've pulled some quotes from this companion article.

There are no crosses, no religious symbols whatsoever.

Because it's not a church.

"My message is a message of hope that God is a good God, and that no matter what we’ve done, where we’ve been, God has a great plan for our lives. And when we walk in his ways they can take us places we’ve never dreamed of," Osteen explains.

Translation: My message is full of key words that people want to hear and read, that appeal to the lowest common denominator of intelligence and faith. It sounds vaguely scriptural, but I haven't read the bible and neither have my audience, so I'm free to make stuff up in the best interest of my book sales. See? I've walked "in his ways" and now I make many millions of dollars per year! You could do that too, but you probably won't be as successful as me.

"I mean is that being a pastor or is that being Dr. Phil or Oprah?" Pitts asks.

I love love love some of the interviewer's questions. I think he sees right through the fluff and hopes to catch Osteen admitting "his message" has pretty much nothing to do with religion. Osteen replies that (he THINKS) sometimes what Dr. Phil says comes right out of the bible. Um, what? So you are just like Dr. Phil? "I think we use God's word." You THINK?? If you're my pastor, you should know. *shudder*

"'To become a better you, you must be positive towards yourself, develop better relationships, embrace the place where you are.' Not one mention of God in that. Not one mention of Jesus Christ in that," Pitts remarks.

"That's just my message. There is scripture in there that backs it all up. But I feel like, Byron, I'm called to help people…how do we walk out the Christian life? How do we live it? And these are principles that can help you. I mean, there’s a lot better people qualified to say, 'Here’s a book that going to explain the scriptures to you.' I don’t think that’s my gifting," Osteen says.

Hehe, thanks Mr. Pitts. So, there are better people qualified to explain the scriptures. I agree; they're called Lutherans. ;) This exchange highlights why Osteen is a fad: "his message" doesn't actually help people! It certainly does nothing for their immortal souls. Having good relationships and being positive toward yourself as principles don't stand up to the crushing weight of sin upon every single person. Without the grace of Jesus Christ and his life-giving salvation, everything else is meaningless! Lutheranism might never be as popular at any one time, but the message is far more enduring. Because it's GOD'S message.

I don't understand why people have life-changing experiences by listening to this man. They must like being able to listen to motivational fluff and call it church. They get to call themselves religious--because he talks on Sunday mornings--without the whole bother of acknowledging their need for forgiveness and hearing the actual Word of God. But as soon as his promises of a better life don't come true, they'll drift away, thinking they tried Christianity and didn't like it. Sad.

"...You feel very humbled, you know?" Osteen says.

"Humbled by your success?" Pitts asks.

Answer: yes.

Cereal

When there's cereal in the house, I tend to go overboard. After several days of double-helpings of Grape Nuts after Erich leaves for work:

Erich: What happened to all the Grape Nuts??

Me: I TOLD you, I've been going nuts on the Grape Nuts.

Erich: But we just bought it, and I only had one bowl....

Me: What part of "I went nuts on the Grape Nuts" don't you understand?!?

Erich: The "grape"! I mean, where does that even COME from????

Me: lol

Long time, no post

I seem to have reached the inevitable time where regular posting has slowed significantly. I shall try not to let this continue to a halt. The holidays were very nice and relaxing, but my return to normal life has been very slow. The first few days after New Year's, I simply could not get myself to move! I'm still generally tired, but I'm slowly but gradually getting back into regular activities.

I really loved the weather earlier this week. Sunday was so glorious when the temperatures hit a record-breaking mid-60s. Monday was the first day back to school, and my choir convinced me to let them go outside for a while. (I hadn't planned much due to the previous week's lethargy, and, let's face it, I'm a pushover and I want them to like me.) I couldn't believe I didn't need a jacket on January 7th in Northern Illinois!

Just before I let the kids go outside, I heard at least one of them say something about "global warming." At that point I reclaimed the attention of the entire group and made a strong statement: "I want you all to know that this is NOT global warming; it's WARM WEATHER." And then they pranced around for ten minutes outside because it's really good for young adolescents to get exercise and fresh air in our society of ever-increasing obesity.

That's right folks, "global warming" as a phenomenon has been utterly blown out of proportion. It has gone from a long-term climate trend of multiple origins studied by meteorologist to a political entity and fad aimed at alarming people, making them believe the world as we know it will end in 20 years and--perhaps even more ridiculous--that our actions not only caused the problem but can also directly reverse it.

Anyone who claims a "consensus" among scientists on these issues is lying or at least grossly misinformed. One must stay informed and keep in perspective just how ridiculous are many of the claims of the global warming campaign. Voices of common sense are yet still too few and far between, but I believe they will gain strength as the general population abandons this fad in favor of living lives of moderation and economic responsibility.

That is my optimistic viewpoint. In the meantime, I laugh at the so-called "global warming follies" and nod vigorously in agreement with common sense articles posted on this blog: http://gwfollies.wordpress.com/

Visit, laugh, and realize that God's creation is still and will remain far too complicated for even the most intelligent among us to completely understand.

Flight of the Conchords

Erich and I have had this in our heads all day:

Funny

Got this forward from my dad. I rofl'ed:

To All My Democrat Friends:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2008, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere. Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability or religious faith.


To my Republican friends - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!